A/N: This chapter is in "present time". It might seem a little jumpy at first but I assure you it will all make sense in the end. And feel free to shoot me a review if you get lost.

"She is such an..." The boy looked up from the mare he was brushing as his friend entered the stable row. He sighed, pretty much every time he saw her, the dark haired servant had some complaint about her domineering mistress. Not that anyone could blame her; Princess Quinn was known to be overly harsh and demanding of all she considered her inferiors, and her personal maid bore the brunt of it.

The greatest honor in the kingdom of Valhaven was to serve the royal family. All the children in the villages were taught that if they worked hard, someday they could attain these high positions. As in all lands, the highest of the high was the kings army. And all the parents o all the young boys in the kingdom desired military positions for their sons.

Kurt's family was no different from the rest. When his mother died, his father, who had been a captain in the army, had to quit to take care of his young son. Though he was never shown any resentment for the lost career, Kurt knew he was expected to follow in his father's footsteps. The problem laid within him. When sent out by his father to hunt, Kurt would return with a wounded creature he'd nurse back to health. It wasn't that he could not kill, he simply chose not to. No, Kurt was not a good fit for the king's army.

But, when he was twelve, a messenger from the palace rode right up to their door. The king wanted his best man, Kurt's father, to head up a group of soldiers tasked with hunting down anarchist guerrilla fighters. The messenger also brought a promise to find Kurt occupation in the palace; that his father need not worry about leaving him behind.

So that was how fourteen year old Kurt came to be working in he stables when the dark haired young serving maid, newly arrived at the castle, had fled the cook's rage into a horse stall. Kurt and Rachel had become fast friends as she worked her way up to Princess Quinn's ladysmaid. A year older than Kurt, the girl could tell stories of things he'd never even thought of. Rachel had an air about her that had instantly led Kurt to trust her implicitly. And two years of friendship had shown that trust to be well founded.

Rachel knew all of Kurt's secrets, yet sometimes he felt like he barely knew his best friend at all. Sometimes he would find her staring off into the distance, as if seeing something that made her utterly happy and terribly sad at the same time. And her confidence, her carriage, and the indignance with which she met the princess' tirades made Rachel unlike any girl Kurt had ever known.

Rachel had made her way through the stable to where Kurt stood and paused, looking at him critically with clear discontent marring her pretty face.

"What'd she do this time?" He asks without looking up from the mane he's combing out. "I don't know how you get this tangled."

"You are speaking to the horse correct? As I hardly have a choice in the matter." There's another thing that puzzles Kurt about his friend. She talks so proper to be a mere servant. The only people he's ever heard some of the words she does are the royal family and the high nobles. "I just cannot stand the way she speaks to me, to everyone. It is as if I am not human, like I am a dog. Except she treats all animals worse than that. Did you know that Princess Brittany brought a kitten into Quinn's room yesterday, and what did she do? She gave orders to have it drowned and tell Brittany it was an accident."

"That's pretty awful." Kurt says levelly. He's learned that agreeing with Rachel is a good idea, but he'd also like to keep his head. Rachel sinks down gracefully on a stool beside him with a sigh.

"So how are you?" She asks, regaining her composure and smiling at him. It's like she has a magic switch inside that lets her forget her troubles; something Kurt has always been jealous of.

"Well my father's returning with his men tomorrow. So I get a wonderful week of his disappointment." Kurt replies sarcastically. "And his sneaking up to check on me all the time. So."

"Secret rendezvous are a nonentity." She finishes for him.

"I have no idea what ra day vu means but yes I think so?" And it's creepy when you finish my sentences, he adds silently.

"Meetings." Rachel clarifies, sighing quietly at the need to explain. At his confirmative nod she purses her lips. "I am sorry."

"I'll live." Kurt says simply. His next words are interrupted by the clatter of hooves in the stable yard.

"Hello? Who is here?" A voice calls as the rider dismounts, leading his horse into the stable.

"Just me and Rachel." Kurt answers as the second son of the king appears, cheeks flushed from his ride.

"You were not here this morning." The blond prince states, half accusingly, half merely as a fact, to Kurt. "Hello Rachel and on a scale of Quinn to the devil how is my sister today?" Rachel giggles quietly.

"Quite herself. I should be returning now. I will see you later Kurt." She curtsies. "Prince Samuel."

"Rachel." the prince says in a warning tone, lightly holding her elbow to stop her exit. "We have discussed this."

"Goodbye Pr- Sam." She corrects quietly before scurrying out of the stable.

"God I love that girl but I am glad that she knows when to leave." Sam says as he leads his horse into its stall, bolting the door and moving towards Kurt. " Now how are you? Really."

Rachel is the only person who knows their biggest secret. When Kurt thought about it, which he avoided because it scared him so much, but when he did think about it, he couldn't believe that it was real. That the prince of the kingdom loved him, the stable boy. Of course it was as forbidden as murder in the kingdom, probably more so. If they were discovered, Kurt would likely be imprisoned or even killed and Sam would be disinherited.

It had taken a long time for the boys to decide to risk it. When twelve year old Kurt had begun working in the stables, he had instantly been assigned to the eleven year old prince's horse. Over the years they'd developed a friendship, then tentatively flirted. When they'd finally come out and acknowledged their feelings, it was still a long time before they allowed themselves to carefully begin to demonstrate those feelings. It shocked them how much they could feel for each other, a love that had always been banned.

"I'm not too good." Kurt tells Sam quietly. "I wasn't here this morning because the king wished to see me." At the other boy's look of alarm he quickly assures him. "No nothing bad! Just, my father and his men are returning tomorrow. They'll be staying for a week which means..."

"We probably cannot see each other." Sam says sadly. Kurt marvels at how opposite his reaction to Sam's completion of his thoughts is to Rachel's. It makes him feel connected and in tune with the boy he loves. "We'll just have to make today count then."

A/N: And then they fuck. [to be added if there's enough desire]

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